Zines (originally called fanzines) are amateur, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) publications produced non-commercially, designed to circulate among a small number of people sharing similar cultural or social interests. Generally speaking, zines are produced by a single individual - in a cut-and-paste fashion and photocopied - and distributed informally by hand or at concerts, zine fests, bookstores, music stores and other locations, or sent through the mail at low cost.

Zines are important methods of communication among members of distinct subcultures or social communities traditionally underrepresented by the societal mainstream. In the modern era, zines became popular during the emergence of science fiction fandom starting in the 1930s. SF fans created zines, which evolved out of the letter columns from SF literary magazines such as Astounding Stories, in order to communicate with each other and provide forums in which fans could express their own personal opinions about the genre and its media products. Zines fairly quickly became a distinct feature of SF fandom and remain so to this day.

Zines were taken up by other distinct cultural movements, including beat literature in the 1950s, underground comics in the 1960, punk music in the 1970s, and the feminist riot grrl movement in the 1990s. As methods of cheap photocopying and, later, the personal computer, became more widely available in the 1980s and 1990s the number and variations of zines exploded. With the advent of the Internet and the introduction of blogging as a tool of personal and creative expression, the number of print zines began declining, although the zine remains popular among particular subcultures as a tool of personal and creative expression and as a way of exchanging thoughts, ideas and opinions.

This collection consists of numerous zines assembled by Iowa City native Brent Johnson, who with Leah Galey founded the Iowa Killed Buddy Holly Small Press and Zine Shop at the Hall Mall on College Steet in Iowa City, in May of 2002. The store was closed in 2009.

The zines in this collection involve a wide variety of subjects, including music, art, literary expression and personal expression. The collection is particularly notable for its local flavor, in that it holds many zines produced by residents of Iowa City and elsewhere in Iowa.

Box 7 holds a zine, Chihuahua and Pit Bull, that is contained inside a corked bottle. The bottle itself has never been opened, but is interesting as an aesthetic curiosity.

Historical Note

Zines (originally called fanzines) are amateur, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) publications produced non-commercially, designed to circulate among a small number of people sharing similar cultural or social interests. Generally speaking, zines are produced by a single individual - in a cut-and-paste fashion and photocopied - and distributed informally by hand or at concerts, zine fests, bookstores, music stores and other locations, or sent through the mail at low cost.

Zines are important methods of communication among members of distinct subcultures or social communities traditionally underrepresented by the societal mainstream. In the modern era, zines became popular during the emergence of science fiction fandom starting in the 1930s. SF fans created zines, which evolved out of the letter columns from SF literary magazines such as Astounding Stories, in order to communicate with each other and provide forums in which fans could express their own personal opinions about the genre and its media products. Zines fairly quickly became a distinct feature of SF fandom and remain so to this day.

Zines were taken up by other distinct cultural movements, including beat literature in the 1950s, underground comics in the 1960, punk music in the 1970s, and the feminist riot grrl movement in the 1990s. As methods of cheap photocopying and, later, the personal computer, became more widely available in the 1980s and 1990s the number and variations of zines exploded. With the advent of the Internet and the introduction of blogging as a tool of personal and creative expression, the number of print zines began declining, although the zine remains popular among particular subcultures as a tool of personal and creative expression and as a way of exchanging thoughts, ideas and opinions.

ATCA Periodicals and Zines Collection. Bulk dates: 1960-1980. 75+ ft.

This ATCA collection brings together journals, newspapers, zines, and similar formal and informal periodicals that are art-related or have artistic merit. The range of subjects is broad and include political and cultural issues, gender and sexuality questions, as well as music, film, poetry, and religion. MsC779. (Finding Aid)

BERGUS, NICK AND LAURA. Bergus Zine Collection, 1978-2002. 13.5 ft.

Zines collected by Nick and Laura Bergus documenting avant garde and popular music in the 1980s and 1990s. MsC834. (Finding Aid)

Collection of zines donated by Iowa City-based art and performance venue Public Space ONE. Many zines relate to anarchist or radical politics, and many zines are from Iowa City-area authors. MsC370. (Finding Aid)

Collection of amateur publications arising primarily from the feminist riot grrrl movement of the 1990s, together with numerous zines documenting various independent/underground music scenes. MsC 878. (Finding Aid)

ZINE MACHINE. Zine Machine Collection, 2001-2009. 0.8 ft.

Collection of zines taken from the Zine Machine, a repurposed vending machine in the University of Iowa Main Library that distributes zines to interested parties. Many of the zines are local to Iowa City in origin. MsC885. (Finding Aid)